While Natsume’s Book of Friends has a supernatural theme, that doesn’t stop it from being an amazing comfort anime for people of all ages.
Yuki Midorikawa’s Natsume Yuujinchou (also known as Natsume’s Book of Friends) stars Natsume Takashi, who has the power to see the supernatural beings that others cannot. It is a slice-of-life anime involving some core of Japanese religious cultures full of spirits, ghosts and yokai. The basic plot and structure may seems like standard at first, but the more one watches this series, the more they realize how unique it is. The narrative is simple enough for children to understand, yet it contains a depth and sophistication to keep older fans intrigued as well.
Natsume Yuujinchou follows Natsume as he finds many Yokai coming after him to obtain a book that belonged to his grandmother, Reiko. The Yokai mistake him for Reiko since they can’t tell genders apart, and don’t have any sense about time. After finding out about the book’s contents from Madara, a very powerful Yokai, Natsume decides to give back the names of Yokai that his grandmother had taken from them. By doing this , he tries to find a purpose while aiding other Yokai in need.
Natsume Yuujinchou Is Heartwarming With a Touch of Comedy:
Whether it’s Yokai or the humans, everyone in Natsume’s Book of Friends has their story to tell about. Natsume, who was used to living a lonely life, suddenly finds himself in the company of multiple such people. He is able to see the memories of Yokai whenever he returns their name. He realizes they were just as lonely as he used to be before, and is able to empathize with them. Before learning about the Book of Friends, Natsume only had hatred for the Yokai, which then changes. He starts caring about them as one would care about their friends.
These newfound bonds and friendship transcend the boundaries of a mortal and immortal too. Furthermore, there’s Madara, who Natsume refers to as Master Kitty Cat, a powerful yet adorable being like. Madara takes the liberty to become Natsume’s bodyguard and protect him until he eventually dies of old age, so the former can claim the book as his own book.
While the series tends to be a little heavy, the appearance of the Master adds depths of humor with his cat form, which is large and round enough to be frequently mistaken by others for a ‘pig’ or ‘raccoon dog’. In the midst of all their bickering and fighting, Natsume and Madara gradually develop a strong bond between them.